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THE
CALIFORNIA WHITE CAP MURDERS |
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Synopsis by: Bill Wink "The
California White Cap Murders” A book by: Helen Rocca Goss
Attending the political
festivities, the “gala candidate’s ball”
in Middletown, that particular night were law enforcement officers; Sheriff
Gawn Moore, his deputy, Sheriff A. H. Spurr, District Attorney M. S. Sayre,
and Constable J. W. Ransdell. In
1890, Middletown was a stage stop for travelers going on to Lower Lake or
northwest to Lakeport as well as to the many hot springs dotted around the
area. Middletown was the main center of commerce for the surrounding farms
and ranches and it was a mining town. The mines of greatest interest
regarding this event were, the Bradford (later the Mirabel), the Bullion and
the Great Western (or Western Mine). These mines were all South of
Middletown, the Bradford being the farthest south, then the Bullion and
closest to Middletown, the Great Western, with only about a mile and a half
separating the two farthest apart.
LAKE COUNTY HOUSE CURRENTLY AT THE
CORNER OF CALISTOGA ST AND HWY 175 Also
south of Middletown, on the Calistoga Middletown road, and about a mile north
of the Bradford was the "Camper's Retreat". Why the name, I have no
clue, because it was apparently a place for miners to go and blow off steam?
A miner could drink grog, play cards and I suppose lose a little money and it
must have gotten a little rowdy occasionally as employed as a bouncer
bartender at this establishment was the afore mentioned Fred Bennett. The
diabolical plot that night was to wear hoods, flog Bennett with a cat of nine
tails, tar and feather him and escort him to the county line and order him to
never set foot in the county again. This plan was formulated against Bennett
because the men involved disliked Bennett for various reasons including the
fact "Bennett had thrashed several
of them and they all hated him." C. E. Blackburn, who was accused of
forming the original idea, had confronted Bennett previously over a mining
boundary claim and had been thrashed by Bennett. W. R. McGuire was mad at the
Riches over the Riche's cows wandering into his pasture. "For a split second Riche
thought it was some person taking advantage of everybody being away to the
ball to come after the money. But in the next instant at least five or six
more masked men jumped in after him, with rifles, shotguns, pistols and so
on. Riche thinking he recognized one of the men, then believed the whole
thing a joke or a pre-Halloween prank, and he playfully slapped the man on
the cheek as he laughingly said "You Can't Scare Me". The bullet
that immediately whizzed past his head convinced him that there was no joke
about it. Mrs. Riche's reaction had been to rush up to one of the men and
pull the mask off his face. Riche grabbed his wife and tried to get in front
to protect her, but one of the men pushed her down and there came a volley of
shots. Riche made an effort to help his wife, as he did he could see that she
had been shot several times, in the chest and side." Mrs.
Riche suffered four days before succumbing to her wounds. Mr. Riche passed a
short time later. W.R. McGuire died in the melee at the Retreat. There was
great public sympathy for the Riches and deep concern over Mrs. Riche's
murder. Her funeral was one of the largest witnessed in Middletown, according
to the Calistogian, of Oct. 15, 1890.
THE "CAMPERS' RETREAT," WHERE THE WHITE CAPS SHOT MR. RICHE AND MURDERED HIS WIFE
Lakeport
Democrat of Oct. 17, 1890, said the Campers Retreat had a hard name and that
Bennett was a bruiser as many could testify. The Democrat had to praise Mrs.
Riche, remarking that the woman was brave to the last. She tore the mask from the face of one or
two and thus gave a clue to the guilty parties. It
should be noted first that they, the White Caps, were not outlaws or
desperados but just plain ordinary people, most of them were well known in
Middletown or at the neighboring mines.
At the time of the raid most of them were employees of the Bradford
Mine, although one Charles Osgood had worked for the Napa Consolidate (or Oat
Hill) and Great Western Mines.
The White Cap’s ring leaders
were W. R. McGuire and C. E. Blackburn. McGuire was shot and killed in the
confusion on the fateful night and Blackburn was sentenced to twenty five
years in San Quentin for his part.
Three others found guilty were B. F. Staley (20 years), Charles Osgood
(12 years) and Robert Cradwick (20 years). Four other members of the “White
Caps” had charges dismissed for turning states evidence. Those recipients were Charles Evans, A.E.
Bichard, J. Archer and Henry Arkarro.
Charges were dropped against defendants Martin and Lund. So why the title? “About the year of 1885, groups
of lawless bands which had as their purpose the regulation of the manners and
morals of the residents of the area, sprang up in the southern part of the
state of Indiana. During the next ten to fifteen years, these white cap bands
as they were called, spread thru out the rest of Indiana and eventually
spread to neighboring states as well.
The relation between the California incident and the organized white
cap bands of the Middle West is one of spirit and by example only. There is
no evidence that any member of the South Lake County band had ever belonged
to the white cap organization elsewhere. But there is little doubt that the
raid on the Campers Retreat near Middletown was inspired by news accounts of
the white cap raids in other states. The group never gave themselves the name
'White Cap', of themselves or their organization. It was others who gave them
that name.” The
murders achieved national prominence because of the issue of their hoods and
then current events. Epilogue: Turns
out Riche was not the name of our victims but rather it was Thompson and they
were debtors from England and during this time, debtors went to prison in
England. The
author of the book, "The California White Cap Murders", Helen Rocca
Goss was the youngest daughter of Andrew and Mary Rocca whose final resting
place is the Middletown Cemetery
At
the time of the murders, Andrew Rocca, Mrs. Goss's father, was the
Superintendent of the Western Mine and was a very influential man in
Middletown as well as around Lake County and appears to have been known and
respected around the State.
THE GREAT WESTERN MINE Do
to his influence and familiarity with the circumstances Mr. Rocca was
appointed as an Assistant District Attorney and helped with the prosecution
of those charged with the Riche's murder. Mr.
Rocca was also appointed executor of the Thompson's estate and began trying
to settle their debts. This
is the envelope and a letter sent to Mrs. Sherrington, London England,
regarding the indebtedness of the Thompson's estate.
(Because of new
information I have realized the intended recipient of this letter was Helen’s
mother but she probably never saw it as she died around this date.) The End Bill
Wink © February 12, 2016 This was the end of the story, however, it no
longer is. July 2017 Thanks to the gift of a new book titled; Sheringtons A History © 2014 by: Geoffrey Edgar Sherington and Bruce Banfield Sherington both of Australia, which I received from one generous Mark Shephard (who is a relative of the authors) of England we now know more about the victims of the California White Cap Murders. THEY
CAME FOR GOLD AND GOT LEAD We know the couple who died, as a result of the attack on the Camper’s Retreat by the White Caps, last name didn’t represent who they really were. It was divulged by Ms. Goss in her book they were not J. W. and Mrs. Riche as most thought but their last name was Thompson and they were from England. Well now we have learned his name was Steve Thompson and she was Helen Thompson, born Sherington, and was fondly called “Nellie” by the family. She was born around 1853 and had two brothers and two sisters. Nellie was the 2nd youngest and the younger was a brother. Her mother and father were Charles and Mary Sherington and her siblings were; William Charles, (Mary) Jane, Anne (Annie) and the youngest Charles. Steve and Helen left England for North America suddenly in late 1882 or early 1883. Sister Annie heard from Helen in late 1883 and learned where she was and in a letter dated 1884 they were in Kansas City, Missouri. Accompanying Steve and Helen in the U.S. was Helen’s younger brother Charlie (Charles) Sherington. By 1887 Steve and Helen could be found in Lake County, California running the Camper’s Retreat. Charlie stayed in the Midwest but by 1888, Helen’s oldest brother, William Charles Sherington, joined her and Steve in Middletown. William Charles sought and found work in the quicksilver mines and personally referenced the Bullion Mine. Because of his work William Charles was familiar with some of those accused of murdering his sister. It was written that he was with those he knew just prior to the incident and in a letter to his brother in-law had said he had told Steve and Helen to get rid of Bennett dozens of times. (Hindsight says it was unfortunate Steve didn’t listen.) William Charles wrote of his sister Helen and her husband Steve, “they came for gold and got lead.” William Charles died in San Francisco in 1897 apparently a broke and broken man. NEW – Now
read the new book about these murders by this author
All text and images are protected by
copyright and may not be used or reproduced without permission. © 2017 Bill Wink, Mark Shephard,
Geoffrey Edgar Sherington & Bruce Banfield Sherington READ
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